Social media challenge invites Public Health to go viral

February 26, 201426 Feb 2014

Public Health can leverage social media for more than $70,000 in awards

(Toronto) – Go viral to promote health! That is what public health organizations are being encouraged to do in the Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) ImagineNation Public Health Social Media Challenge, which launched today. The teams with the most infectious social media campaigns will share in more than $70,000 in awards and incentives.

Running from February 26, 2014 through September 30, 2014, the Public Health Social Media Challenge, the latest initiative in the ImagineNation Challenges series, is designed to support public health organizations in a quest to harness the power of social media. Participating teams will have the opportunity to learn from their colleagues and share their experiences.

“Social media can be an effective communications tool for organizations to reach many people, very quickly,” explained Richard Alvarez, president and CEO, Canada Health Infoway. “We want to inspire Canadian public health organizations to embrace social media as another way to engage Canadians to share relevant and timely public health information.”

The Challenge is open to organizations that deliver public health services in Canada that undertake social media campaigns that overlap with the Challenge period of February 26, 2014 through September 30, 2014.

To support teams that join the Challenge prior to May 30, 2014, Infoway will be hosting two expert forums comprised of social media, communications and public health professionals. These experts will provide feedback on participants’ social media programs to help them strengthen their campaigns.

The Infoway ImagineNation Challenges were unveiled in 2011 with a vision to inspire, provoke, and promote innovation in health and health care in Canada. Although each challenge is different, they all share the same ultimate goal: to improve quality of care and the patient experience using digital health.

In addition to the Public Health Social Media Challenge, the e-Connect Impact Challenge is currently open and runs until March 31, 2015. This Challenge is encouraging health providers to digitally connect with their patients and each other.

Infoway works with leading Canadian health organizations to help shape the Challenges through expert advice, encouraging participation, and promoting the Challenges and the results. These organizations are:

Accreditation Canada
Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations (ACAHO)
Canadian Dental Association (CDA)
Canadian Home Care Association
Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Population and Public Health (CIHR-IPPH)Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC)Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI)
Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA)
COACH
Health Action Lobby (HEAL)
Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP Canada)
Patients Canada
Patients for Patient Safety Canada
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

About Canada Health Infoway

Infoway helps to improve the health of Canadians by working with partners to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health across Canada. Through our investments, we help deliver better quality and access to care and more efficient delivery of health services for patients and clinicians.